THE ‘S’PECIAL ONE

“For me the Primer was already the very epitome of what a modern-day mountain bike should be, but with the addition of Öhlins suspension on the Primer S the performance has gone through the roof. The Primer climbs with ease, descends with confidence… and it does everything else in-between with great style. It is such a capable bike... it’s a pleasure to ride.” Jeff Steber, INTENSE Founder and CEO

We often ask ourselves, “what do people really want from a modern-day mountain bike?” Speed, reliability, excitement? For most people (and the riding that they do) that means a bike that sits somewhere in the middle… not too much travel, but not too little either, with geometry that just feels ‘right’.

The mountain bike has been on a journey of discovery over the last forty years, and on that journey it has been many things to many people. From light weight cross-country thoroughbreds, to out and out downhill monsters, but I think it is safe to say that for most of us we want a bike that is somewhere in the middle. A bike that can climb with ease and descend with the best of them. In this modern day and age that bike, the ‘mountain bike’, would probably be classed as a Trail bike, and for us at INTENSE that means the Primer.

Whilst XC bikes are featherweight and super responsive, and Enduro bikes are burly terrain destroyers, what we call ‘Trail‘ sits perfectly in between the two – taking the best of XC and the best of Enduro, creating what many would see as the ideal bike. For us that perfect recipe includes fast rolling and confidence inspiring 29” wheels, with a mix of 140mm rear and 150mm front travel, combined with perfectly honed geometry and quality construction. Components that include wide bars, a short stem, dropper post, aggressive tires, 12 speed gearing. A bike that is light, strong, refined and ready for anything… that’s the Primer.

The Primer is the most versatile model in our range. We have designed a bike that is attack minded, assured and balanced, nimble and fun, equally at home on long all-day rides, laps in your local woods or multi-day adventures.

For 2021 we wanted to do something a little bit special with the Primer, so we created the Primer S. For this model we teamed up with legendary Swedish suspension specialists Öhlins to spec their RXF36 m.2 150mm air sprung fork and the TTX22M 140mm coil rear shock. This has unleashed a whole new level of performance for the Primer, blurring the lines of what a Trail bike is capable of. It is an awesome upgrade that has added an extra dimension to the Primer.

And the Primer S has got a real ‘wow factor’. Carbon throughout, with titanium hardware, internal cable routing, ‘Flip Chip’ technology (allowing you to switch between two geometry settings), Flak Guard frame protection, and ISCG05 mounts, all finished off with a coat of classic ‘INTENSE racing red’ paint.